Circle Contact Lens are Both Illegal and Dangerous

In Lady Gaga’s music video for “Bad Romance,” viewers may remember how extra large and round her eyes looked. That was because they were digitally enhanced to be that way.

Gaga, who most likely took the look from anime cartoons, has encouraged this dangerous trend of special circle contact lenses — which are illegal in the U.S.

Because they are already illegal to sell, there is hardly any regulation to make sure the lenses are made safely and properly. The FDA has not approved the lens, which can be found on the Internet for $20 along with a video on YouTube with makeup artist Michelle Phan, who provides step-by-step instructions for usage. This video has over 9.5 million hits.

The way these different contacts work is “the colored contacts cover a portion of the whites of the eyes, making the pupils appear larger,” ABCNews.com reported.

The site also quoted Dr. Assumpta Madu of Montefiore Medical Center to Good Morning America saying, “There’s literally that potential for someone to lose their vision within 24 hours and that’s from infection.”

Doctors say that like wearing any type of contact lens, prolonged wear can lead to infections and although it is rare, loss of vision.